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Tending to Ruin

This is my second time writing about Blair's Death Rain chips. The first time I had just consumed the Death Rain Jolokia Pepper. They were pretty metals! Get ready for round 2. This time I munched on Blair's Death Rain Buffalo Wing cauldron-cooked potato chips. They come in the same (metal looking) bag [however with Buffalo Wing they switched out the black drop with a yellow (not as metal)]. These were a gift from the in-laws (as were the previous bag of Blair's if I remember correctly). When i peeled the laminated aluminum apart I was greeted with the smell of kettle cooked chips with a slight cayenne hit. I tossed one into my mouth and BAM! Nice crunch, not overly greasy. The bag says that they're a medium heat and I'd have to agree (if not a little more than medium [after all they are Blair's Death Rain]). You can taste the potato and at times you get a hint of BBQ..other times there's a touch of sweetness to the chips. As with all Blair's Death Rain chips the heat is more of the battery acid variety rather than a chili pepper base. If you're in the mood for some heat without truly dancing with the devil these'll be right up your alley. You get some nice forehead sweats after an 85g bag, which is the perfect size for one sitting. If you're going to crush a large bag you may want to find a friend to help you devour so that you don't end up with a tum tum ache. Either way, be prepared for your mouth to burn for a while after finishing your salty little snack.

It's nice when packaging gives you an indication as to what's inside. Blair's doesn't try to pass themselves off as something that won't kick your ass, the same can be said for a record that I picked up a couple weeks ago. I was flipping through used records a couple weeks ago in Calgary (at Sloth Records [amazing store, stop in if you're in YYC]) and I saw an album cover that was opaque red with black horror movie looking writing and black crosses. Band name: Between the Wars. Album title: Less We Believe E.P. Year: 2005. The packaging was minimal: 8.5x11" Black and white printed lyric sheet, a 12" cardboard square (I assume for rigidity) behind the opaque plastic cover and a record label that I wasn't familiar with (Pokerface Records [looking at the record now I notice that in small print below the Pokerface logo it says that it's Licensed by ThinkFast! Records {I can't find a picture of the cover version that I have, but it's like this one, but without the faces on the sides]. It was a good price and looked like something that I might be into..maybe HxC, maybe metal..who knows, maybe it was going to be some offshoot of Babymetal? (I love getting records based on the cover/title without knowing anything about them, there's something about a good surprise from physical media that's so satisfying). Once I got it home I found a nice light purple marble record with a yellow bug and the band name (spray/screen?) painted on the b-side (as the E.P. title suggested this is a single sided 12"). I tossed it on the turn table and was met with a bakers handful of metalcore ditties that lean more towards the HxC than the metal (it's 2005's version of HxC [don't get me wrong, there's plenty of dick swinging guitar leads / lively instrumentation]). Heavy. Good shit.

I love it when packaging doesn't dick you around.

Stay hydrated,
Marc

p.s. Between the Wars "featured Ensign frontman Tim Shaw, as well as former Thursday guitarist Bill Henderson" if that means anything to you.

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